Awning



p 24, 1968' G. w. KANARR 3,402,516

AWNING Filed May 20, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 j INVENTOIE L 2 George W. Kunurr By 1/ E i 1 P 26 ATTORNEY Sept. 24, 1968 w. KANARR AWNING Filed May 20, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 uvvmron George W. Konorr United States Patent 3,402,516 AWNING George W. Kanarr, 304 Market St., Kingston, Pa. 18704 Filed May 20, 1966, Ser. No. 551,672 15 Claims. (CI. 5275) This invention relates to awnings and more particularly to a light transmitting awning which can be easily assembled on the mounting site and which has an esthetic appearance.

Awnings are known that provide shade from the sun as well as protection against rain and snow but are objectionable in that too much shade produces an undesirable degree of darkness in the area served by the awning. Another disadvantage of the usual type of awning is that 1t must be tailored to fit each individual installation at a site which is specifically equipped to form and assemble the individual elements of the completed assembly.

It is an object of this invention to produce an awning which will provide shade from the sun without producing an objectionable darkening of the area served.

It is a further object of this invention to produce an awning which can be tailored to each installation on the site of use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an awning which can be assembled from a minimum number of structural shapes.

It is a further object to produce an awning as aforesaid which has an esthetic appearance.

It is yet a further object of this invention to produce an awning as aforesaid which can be made of selected colors from an inventory of a minimum number of parts.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an awning as aforesaid which will retain a fresh appearance at all times and which is rugged and weatherproof to resist high winds, strong sun, rain, snow, sleet etc.

These and other objects of the invention will become manifest upon reading the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the awning of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a broken transverse section taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a section of a modified form of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a section of a modified form of I beam.

In FIG. 1 there is shown the awning of this invention mounted on a building. The awning comprises a plurality of V-shaped valley panels 2, a plurality of V-shaped top cover panels 4, and a plurality of I-beam panel sections 6 connected to panels 2 and 4. The panels 2 and 4 are opaque and can be formed of vinyl plastic or aluminum while panel section 6 is formed of a clear plastic or glass.

The panels 2 are provided with formed ends 8 and 10 defining grooves for the reception of the flanges of the I- beams.

The panels 4 are shown as formed of a plurality of elements but could be formed of one piece construction in the same manner as panel 2 if so desired. This panel comprises individual leg members 12, 14 formed at the ends 16, 18 with a groove for reception of the flanges of the I-beam. The opposite ends of members 12, 14 are provided with an angular portion 20. A T-shaped peak locking element 21 is provided with grooves 22 in each leg of a shape to receive the leg members.

The members 2, 6, 14 and 21 are formed by extrusion and are assembled by lengthwise sliding of the members. It is merely necessary to cut the selected lengths of each member from the longer extruded shapes. The members can be cemented together, if desired, by a suitable adhesive to form a permanently assembled structure. The possibilities of color combinations by forming the members 2, 6 and 14 of various colors are very great. If desired the members 2, 14 can be of the same color and then painted to produce the color combinations or can be covered with a thin vinyl sheet 122 of selected colors cemented to the panel members by a suitable adhesive, as shown in FIG. 5.

Links 26 are secured to the stem portion 24 of locking members 21 by screws 28 and nuts 30. Each link is provided with an aperture 32 through which extends a tubular support rod 34. The links and rod are positioned to support members 2 as shown at 35. Each end of the rod is threaded to receive a threaded sleeve 36. A rod 38 is secured to the sleeve by a screw 40 and to the building by a pin 42 and bracket 44. Decorative points 46 are mounted on the ends of rods 38.

The inner ends of the panels are mounted in a channel 48 having a base 50, a long upper leg 52, and a shorter lower leg 54 making an angle with the base. The channel is secured to the building by a mounting plate 56 fitted within the channel and mounting screws 58. A rubber gasket 60 is seated on the mounting plate to form a weathertight seal.

A turnbuckle is connected to selected stems 24 and to the mounting plate to draw the panels into tight engagement with the gasket. The turnbuckle comprises a headed member 62 formed with a thread 63 of one hand and a bent member 64 formed with a thread 65 of opposite hand. The member 64 is formed with a bent leg 66 that extends through an aperture in the stem 24 and is secured therein by a nut 68. A nut 70 is threaded on to the members 62 and 64 to complete the assembly.

In FIG. 6 is shown an I-beam 72 such as 6 provided with a selected number of apertures 74 which can be used to supply ventilation to the area under the awning.

While specific forms of the invention have been described it is obvious that other modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the I-beam panels have been described as made of clear plastic or glass but these materials could be tinted and still be within the spirit of the invention so long as the light can be transmitted and then reflected into the area service by the awning such as illustrated by the dotted arrows 76.

I claim:

1. An awning comprising alternate panels of opaque and transparent material secured together and means for mounting the panels at a preselected angle on a building, side portions of the opaque panels overlapping and the transparent panels are removably secured to and between the overlapped portions.

2. An awning as defined in claim 1 wherein the transparent panels are I-beams of clear plastic.

3. An awning as defined in claim 1 wherein the transparent panels are I-beams of clear glass.

4. An awning as defined in claim 1 wherein the transparent panels are I-beams of tinted plastic.

5. An awning as defined in claim 1 wherein the transparent materials are I-beams of tinted glass.

6. An awning as defined in claim 1 wherein the opaque panels are V-shaped in cross-section with the apex of the V of alternate panels facing in opposite directions.

7. An awning as defined in claim 3 wherein the overlapping legs of the V of alternate panels are parallel.

8. An awning as defining in claim 7 wherein the transparent panels are I-beams.

9. An awning as defined in claim 8 wherein the overlapping portions of the legs of the Vs are formed with a groove having the shape of the flange of the I-beams and the flanges of the I-beams are in said grooves.

10. An awning as defined in claim 6 wherein alternate V panels comprise separate legs and means securing the legs together.

11. An awning as defined in claim 10 wherein the securing means comprises a T peak element, an angular groove in each leg of the T extending along the total length thereof, and an angular portion on each leg congruent with the shape of the groove in the groove.

12. An awning comprising alternate panels of opaque and transparent material secured together and means for mounting the panels at a preselected angle on a building, the mounting means comprising a channel member having upper and lower legs making said preselected angle with the base and means for urging the panel members toward the base of the channel.

13. An awning as defined in claim 12 wherein the urging means comprises a turnbuckle having one end secured to the channel and the other leg secured to a panel.

14. An awning as defined in claim 13 wherein the mounting means further includes a support rod pivotally mounted on the building and means connecting the rod with the panels.

4 15. .An awning comprising alternate panels of opaque and transparent material secured together and means for mounting the panels at a preselected angle on a building, the opaque material comprising a base and a colored opaque coating of a sheet of plastic adhered to the base.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,549,201 3/1951 Hunter 52-76 2,459,983 1/1949 Werner et al. 5276 2,618,821 11/1952 Corn 52-76 2,673,378 3/1954 Poillon 52-77 2,731,685 1/1956 Silvers et al. 52-76 2,741,000 4/1956 De Martin 52-76 3,093,935 6/1963 Dunn 52495 FOREIGN PATENTS 222,310 7/1962 Austria.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN AWNING COMPRISING ALTERNATE PANELS OF OPAQUE AND TRANSPARENT MATERIAL SECURED TOGETHER AND MEANS FOR MOUNTING THE PANELS AT A PRESELECTED ANGLE ON A BUILDING, SIDE PORTIONS OF THE OPAQUE PANELS OVERLAPPING AND THE TRANSPARENT PANELS ARE REMOVABLY SECURED TO AND BETWEEN THE OVERLAPPED PORTIONS. 